Former SLCPD Officer on trial for aggravated assault

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Opening arguments were held on Tuesday for the former Salt Lake City Police officer accused of pinning a man with his car while off duty. 

The incident happened in December of 2022. Police documents state Thomas Caygle rear-ended the victim and the two pulled over. The victim told ABC4 Caygle told him he was a cop and was slurring his words. 

When he went to open his trunk, the victim claims Caygle pulled his vehicle forward, pinning the victim. Dashcam footage shows the victim was trapped in between the two vehicles for several seconds. In court, the victim testified his girlfriend had to move their vehicle to unpin him because Caygle didn’t move his vehicle. 

“As bystanders rushed to help… Thomas Caygle became irate and nearly got into a fight with one of them. You’ll also hear them explain that they smelled the odor of alcohol,” said the prosecutor on Tuesday. 

“I still to this day feel pain,” the victim testified on Tuesday. 

While Caygle did admit to authorities he sipped some alcohol before the crash, blood tests showed he also had Xanax in his system, according to court documents.

That being said, his defense argues this was an accident and it is the state’s burden to prove otherwise. 

“Not just that it recklessly created a risk, but that he intentionally committed an act with unlawful force that substantially injured somebody else,” argued his defense. 

Caygle is no longer employed with the Salt Lake City Police Department. Before working for SLCPD he worked for Ogden City Police where he had been written up on six prior occasions. 

Caygle is facing felony aggravated assault and negligently operating a vehicle resulting in an injury.